Sunburned: Error dooms Mets

NEW YORK  Watching the orange glow off center fielder Mike Camerons sunglasses, Ken Griffey Jr.s fly ball in the seventh inning was going to be trouble.

Peter Zellen

Published
12:00 am EDT, Friday, June 25, 2004

Just a few feet to the right or left of the sun and Cameron and the Mets would have been all right. But thats just not how things work for this team, which fell 6-2 to the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday at Shea Stadium.

With the ball engulfed in the bright sun, Cameron never had a chance. Barely picking it up at the end of its descent, Cameron came within inches of snaring the ball but it caromed off his glove.

Cameron cussed himself in the outfield, manager Art Howe turned to the wall in the Mets dugout looking as if he wanted to kick something and starter Tom Glavine hung his head in disbelief from the bench after watching another chance for a win just slip by.

"I saw it when it went up and tried to position myself," Cameron said. "Its one of the worst feelings you can have on the baseball field when you dont see the baseball. Its not an easy feeling and when it happened it wasnt a good time. I guess Im the goat right now."

The play was scored as a two-base error for Cameron, a decision the two-time Gold Glover accepted. But it also came with two out and the bases loaded, allowing all three runners to score, keying Cincinnati to a five-run seventh off the Mets bullpen.

"It was just a bad break," Howe said. "When the ball stays in the sun theres nothing you can do. Mother Nature didnt help us out. (Cameron) feels worse than anybody but its a helpless feeling. If you cant see it you cant catch it."

The non-catch and ensuing loss dropped the Mets (35-36) back under .500, the third time since May 25 theyve been a game over .500 only to fall back under two games later.

The Mets have lost two straight since amassing a season-high five-game winning streak, a common theme this season. After three other four-game winning streaks this season, the Mets followed them up with two or more straight losses.

That streaky play has kept the Mets close to .500 and as much as a game over it, but never two games over.

Another streak could have provided the kind of momentum the Mets needed and hoped for coming into this weekends Subway Series at Yankee Stadium, playing a team they lost six straight to last season.

"I think weve shown that numerous times unfortunately," said left-hander Al Leiter, who starts for the Mets today against Yankees lefty Brad Halsey. "Whenever we hit on that .500 mark, we fall back a little bit."

There is a growing sense of frustration in the Mets clubhouse regarding their battle with .500. For some players, such as Glavine, the frustration is getting personal.

Pitching another brilliant game, Glavine came away with little other than consolation and an ERA likely to get him a berth on the All-Star team. The left-hander gave up nine hits but allowed just two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts.

In his last six starts, Glavine has allowed just 46 baserunners over 43 innings while posting a 2.09 ERA. He is also a ridiculous 1-2 with three no-decisions in the span.

"You go up there with a game plan and you try and execute your game plan and you do and you want to win those games. It gets hard to take after a while," said Glavine, who still leads the majors with a 2.11 ERA. "I cant let it consume me as much as I can. Im crossing my fingers and hoping that it continues all year long but chances are there will be a point in time where Im going to struggle. You go out there and you pitch well and you want to take advantage of that."